Lazy Days: Hummus

Lazy Days: Hummus: "Hummus is a great dip , it can be used in so many different ways, in toasted sandwiches, as a dip, as part of a meal, it also goes great wit..."

Potato's and split peas mix up

The other evening I found myself with a bit of a predicament. We were going away the next day to our beach house for the weekend so there wasn’t much food left in the pantry.

I had been looking through a cook book earlier and found a recipe that I liked the look of but had hardly any of the ingredients, so I decided to have a go at it with what I had around. 

  

I had read the recipe and thought it said that it had chickpeas in it. I didn’t have chickpeas because I had used them in the hummus but I had some split peas laying around so I thought that they would work. 

Later on when I looked back at the recipe it didn’t even need chickpeas but oh well it was meant to be. This dish worked out really well. It took a bit longer than I thought it would take, because the potato’s took for ever to cook but I endeavored and the effort was well worth it.

The combination worked well with the slight hint of chili worked into the potato’s and the split peas adding a hearty feel to the dish, adding a different texture other than the starchiness from the baby potato’s. It was also coated in a lovely rich tomato sauce that carried the chili’s in it’s body.

Recipe

1 1/2 cups soaked split peas, green or yellow or both 

2 onions, finely sliced 

1 stick of celery, finely sliced 

3 gloves, crushed and diced 

600 g baby potato’s, washed and quartered 

1 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp olive oil

2 jars tomato sauce 

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan or deep frying pan, once the oil is hot add in the prepared onions, celery and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent and the celery is soft.

Then add in the potato’s and mix through for about 5 minutes. Then add in the chili flakes and tomato sauce , stir until all the ingredients are coated in the sauce. Now add in the soaked peas and mix in.

 Bring to a simmer and stir frequently for 10 minutes. Then turn the stove down to low and cover the pan, remembering to stir it every now and then until the potato’s become soft. This may take as long as half and hour. 

Once the potato’s are soft place them into a lined roasting dish and bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes or until the top of the dish is slightly crisped.Serve up with some fresh bread and hummus or it also goes well with rice.

I also roasted some cheery tomato's to go with this dish by sprinkling them with balsamic and placing them in the hot oven with the potato's and split peas and they were ready at the same time as it .

 

Enjoy

Hummus

Hummus is a great dip , it can be used in so many different ways, in toasted sandwiches, as a dip, as part of a meal, it also goes great with roasted veggies.

One of my favourite things about a good hummus recipe is the combination of the smokiness from a good paprika, the tartness from the lemon and the mild flavours from the roasted garlic and tahini.   

The image is truly eye catching as well with the contrast of the different colours from the light beige for the chickpeas to the vibrant ambery red of the paprika.

Recipe :
2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 cloves roasted garlic
2 cloves fresh garlic
1-2 lemons, juiced
3 Tbs tahini
2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the above ingredients into a food processor or blender and  pulse until combined the slowly add water until you have a smooth consistency.
Then place into a container or bowl, then top with sesame seeds, olive oil and more smoked paprika.
This hummus is best left for a day in the fridge so that the flavours are able to develop completely.

Enjoy !   

Baby pants Or 3/4 pants ???

The other week I was looking through some of the regular site that I go on and I found this idea and pattern from the made by rae  blog. This is a really basic idea and pattern, If your a beginner sewer or just after a project that doesn't take to much thought this is one for you !

 

Here is a picture of my lovely Edie pie in a pair that I made up for her , although the pattern is meant for new borns I simply added 2 cm to the width to make sure they fit her because she is almost 3 months old.

The plan was to make them longer as well by adding another 2 cm to the length of the pants but I got a bit ahead of myself and cut out one leg before checking that I had enough material for both of them ! To fix my little miss hap I simply shortened the leg length  to fit into the amount of material I had left. In the end I think I added to 2cm to the pattern and then had to minus 4cm, but they are still long enough to be pants till the end of spring, and then will be 3/4 for summer, which is quite a handy.

 I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did.

Potato And Herb Bread

Today I thought it was time to put thought into action, I had been mulling over the idea of combining potato and herbs in a loaf  of lovely white soft bread.

I decided that the first step to get the ball moving would be to commit to the flavour combination that I was looking for. The potato's would of course be succulent and young and then tenderly roasted with Rosemary and Thyme, then drizzled with olive old and salt cracked over the top of them. I have to omit I'm not a big fan of potato's but these were some dam fine potato's just on their wee lonesome!

Next the bread needed to be soft and moist but have a crisp outer crust , for I'm a sucker for bread with a tasty crust. The bread, I therefore chose to use was a packet mix which I'm ashamed  to omit , but it always turns out so tasty and fool proof what ever you do with it! I used Laucke Flours : Crusty White Bread mix. Feel free to use whatever bread recipe you feel like using on the day , or if you have an special favourite that you think could use a twist.

The result was just what I had pictured, It all went to plan other than being slightly under cooked around the potato's which I simply fixed by putting it back into the oven for another 10 minutes. I chose to use the bead for our family's lunch, I paired it up with some Italian style beans that I had already in the fridge  and some lovely homemade Hummas dip, then to finish it off I garnished it with sliced Avocado and some velvety fetta.

Recipe 

Beard:
It is really up to you to chose what bread you want to use, I just added 3 sprigs of Rosemary and Thyme to my dough mix and put it into my bread maker on a dough cycle.

Herbed Potato's:
About 10 baby potato's ,washed and quartered
3 or 4 sprigs fresh Rosemary
Same of fresh Thyme
4 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt

Pre heat oven to 180 c Fan forced .
In a lined baking dish place your cut and washed potato's, garlic and herbs with the stems removed from them.
Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt to taste and then bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until golden and crisp , then leave to cool.

The Bread:
Once the dough is ready  mixed in the roasted potato's until they are evenly dispersed. Then place into greased bread tin and bake at 180c fan forced for about 30-40 minutes, once the bread looks golden on top and is hollow to tap bake for a further 10 min to make sure that the dough is cooked around the potato's.

Enjoy !

Lazy Days: Once upon a time in a land far far away ...

Lazy Days: Once upon a time in a land far far away ...: "This is the beginning, of a thing that could have potential to take on a life of it's own, I know that it will most likely not be a blog tha..."